Canada Winter Festivals with Snowman Craft for Kindergarten

Cities across Canada celebrate winter with many festivals and carnivals that are encouraging people all over to get outside and participate. Here are just a few of those celebrations that could be on your list to discover this year. Talk about these festivals with your young ones as you do the snowman craft for kindergarten ages and maybe even plan a trip to one this year.

Bonhomme Carnival, Québec

Québec has a winter carnival that has been a tradition dating back to 1894. Red clothing, carnival songs, the arrow sash, Bonhomme’s Effigy and the famous caribou are all a part of the time-honoured celebrations. Bonhomme, the snowman, is the carnival’s mascot who made his first public appearance at the Porte Saint-Louis on January 9, 1955 to invite the public to celebrate during the three weeks before the Carnival began. There is dancing, obstacle courses, icy slides, snow and ice displays, and a chance to learn more about Québec folklore. 

Found out more about Bonhomme and the winter carnival festivities here: https://carnaval.qc.ca/

Winterlude, Ottawa

Winterlude was created by The National Capital Commission (NCC) in 1979 to highlight Canada’s unique culture and climate from the inspiration of ancestors that would gather together during the winter months in the past. 

Every February you can expect a full program that includes tube sliding, skating, admiring snow and ice sculpture competitions, and a cultural program. 

See the Winterlude website at: https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/winterlude.html 

Festival du Voyageur, Winnipeg

This festival is based on the history and culture of the fur trade in eastern Canada from the late 17th to early 18th century. One fur trade outpost, called Fort Rouge, eventually became the city known as Winnipeg. The festival is held each year in Saint Boniface and includes music, a torchlight walk, snow sculptures, celebrations of Cajun culture and even a beard growing contest! 

There is also a song you can learn! The Voyageur Song (with lyrics) can be found on their website. Click here to find out all the information on this festival: https://heho.ca/en/ 

If you are not able to attend one of these events, check out your local events guides to find out what’s happening near you. Canadians love winter and there’s always something fun to do if you just look around.

Have you been to any of these events? Is there a big event in your hometown? We’d love to hear about it! Pop on over to our social media channels (noted at the bottom of this article) and share with us there.

Let’s Make a Snowman!

As you work on this snowman craft for kindergarten level, talk about the festivals happening around Canada and learn about the various activities they have at each one. Even if you can’t travel to one, you’ll have fun exploring the websites and learning about the history of the events. 

You can do this craft on its own or cut it out once completed to add to a winter scene you’ve created. 

Download & Print

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Snowman template (from above)
• Tissue paper - white and black (or a different colour if you want to do a different colour hat). You can use a dark navy blue if you can’t get black.
• Orange coloured paper
• Scissors
• Glue
• Pencil or crayon for pressing

Instructions:

1. Print out the snowman template. You can cut out your snowman and paste onto a coloured cardstock to create a winter scene around your snowman or work right on the printed paper. 
2. Cut the tissue paper into equal 1 x 1 inch squares for all colours except the orange. 
3. Using the end of a pencil or crayon, wrap a square around the end, dip it in glue and press onto your snowman. Start with the eyes and mouth and buttons with your black tissue paper. The buttons are optional. If you don’t want buttons on your snowman just cover it with the white paper.
4. Work around the eyes and mouth, filling in with the white tissue paper. Continue until the snowman is filled in with tissue paper. Try to get each piece close to each other to avoid leaving any gaps.
5. Fill in your hat with the colour of tissue paper you’ve chosen. 
6. Make the nose: cut a triangle/carrot shape out of your orange paper and glue on top of your snowman’s face.